GLENS FALLS -- This is really the prelude to next season for Tommy Meagher, a bullpen ace for St. Petersburg College who has hopes of getting a spot in the starting rotation next season.

His summer got off to a good start on Sunday with six solid innings, leading the Glens Falls Golden Eagles in a 9-2 victory over the Bennington Bombers in their home opener at East Field. The Eagles took advantage of seven hits and Bennington's wildness to improve to 2-0.

The Eagles are back in action Tuesday night at East Field against Saratoga.

Meagher was second in Florida Junior College baseball with nine saves this spring, but also got a couple of starts. This summer will give him a chance to prepare for a possible role as a starter.

"They're grooming him for next year, and I want to make sure that happens for him,'' Glens Falls head coach John Mayotte said. "It's like you're the minor-league manager and you're trying to groom somebody for the big leagues.''

He allowed five hits through six innings, walking just one and striking out four. That's a pretty solid start for someone used to pitching in small doses. His pitches had pretty good pop, even in the fifth and sixth.

He only had trouble in the first, when Bennington scored on three not-very-hard-hit singles, and the sixth, when a walk and a hit batsman put him in a bit of trouble.

"I wish the first inning wouldn't have happened, and the walk in the sixth,'' Meagher said. "Other than that, I was happy.''

Bennington's pitchers were not nearly as fortunate. The Bombers' first two pitchers hit four batters, walked five and had a tendency to bounce pitches in front of the plate. As a consequence, the Eagles had plenty of runners on base.

But the Eagles came through on their opportunities, which made Mayotte happy.

"They do the little things well,'' he said. "You move a guy over and all of a sudden a two-strike guy hits a sacrifice fly instead of striking out ... those are the things you need to do through the season, especially with wood (bats).''

The fourth inning broke the game open for Glens Falls. The Eagles sent 12 batters to the plate and scored six times on only three hits.

The big hits came at the right time. Jake Shaffer drove in two runs with a single and went to second on a throw to the plate. Casey Larson plated a pair of runs with his second double of the game. Dan DeGeorge drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and another run scored on a ground out.

The Golden Eagles got two more in the fifth, this time without a single hit. Joe Mercurio scored on a passed ball and Ken Gregory scored on Jake Owens' sacrifice fly.

Sunday's Game

BENNINGTON GLENS FALLS

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Gilula 2b 5 1 1 0 Owens 2b 3 1 1 1

Jacobi rf 5 0 0 0 Nemcek 2b 1 0 0 0

Halloran 3b 3 1 2 1 Shaffer rf 4 0 1 2

Paquet 1b 4 0 0 0 Cooke lf 5 0 0 1

Binkewicz cf 4 0 2 0 Mahoney 3b 3 1 0 1

S.Brown lf 2 0 1 1 Kelly 1b 2 1 2 0

Donavan ss 4 0 1 0 Seltzer 1b 1 0 0 0

Hasenfus dh 4 0 1 0 Larson cf 3 2 2 2

Panic c 4 0 0 0 Feliz cf 1 0 0 0

Mercurio c 2 2 0 0

Gregory dh 1 2 0 0

DeGeorge ss 2 0 1 1

Totals 35 2 8 2 Totals 28 9 7 8

Bennington 100 000 010 -- 2

Glens Falls (2-0) 010 620 00x -- 9

E -- Owens, Gilula, Mabey, Mahoney. DP -- Glens Falls 1. LOB -- Bennington 9, Glens Falls 10. 2B -- Larson 2, Halloran. SB -- Cooke. SAC -- S. Brown, Kelly. SF -- DeGeorge, Owens.

IP H R ER BB SO

Bennington

Mabey (L) 3 3 5 1 2 2

Smith 2 2 4 1 3 1

VanEs 3 2 0 0 2 1

Glens Falls

Meagher (W) 6 5 1 1 1 4

Farry 2 3 1 1 0 1

Skees 1 0 0 0 0 3

Mabey faced 4 batters in the 4th inning.

HPB -- by Mabey (DeGeorge, Mercurio), by Smith (Kelly, Mercurio), by Meagher (S. Brown). WP -- Mabey 2, Smith 2. PB -- Mercurio, Panic.

T -- 2:44. A -- 312.